Charles f



(ModeL) 0.1. BITZ, Ma-chinefiforUnoapping" Cartridge Shells.

No. 233,311. Patented Oct. 19,1880

NITED STATES PATENT CHARLES F. BITZ, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR UNCAPPING CARTRIDGE-SHELLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,317, dated October 19, 1880,

Application filed July 23, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. BITZ, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain Improvementsin Machines forUncapping CartridgeShells, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the extracting of the primers or caps from metallic cartridgeshells; and the invention consists, first, in so mounting the extracting-punch, in connection with the operating devices, as to impart to it the peculiar movements hereinafter described, and enable it to be attached to and operated by machinery; and, second, it consists in devices for holding the cartridge-shells while being operated upon by the extracting or decapping device, all as hereinafter more fully described.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device, with the cartridge press or machine partly shown in section, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the decapping device detached, with its case or body in section.

Of late years metallic cartridge-shells have been so improved as to be capable of being reloaded and fired several times in succession; and it is now customary for military companies and others to send these cartridge-shells to the factory in large quantities to be reloaded.

'lo reload a shell it is necessary to remove or extract the exploded primer or percussioncap, and various tools or implements have been devised for doing this by hand; but, so far as I know, this operation has never been performed by machinery, which is the object of my present invention, and which is highly important, inasmuch as the reloading of shells on a large scale is now becomingquite common.

The gist of my invention consists in so arranging an extracting-punch, E, that when attached to the cross-head or'other suitable reciprocating part of a machine it shall be made to move forward horizontally during the latter part of its vertical descent, so as to cause its point to enter the primer diagonally or at an angle, then be held against any movement longitudinally backward until it has been raised vertically far enough to lift the primer out of the pocket of the shell, and then be (ModeL) moved backward past a stripping device to remove the extracted primer from the point of the punch.

It is obvious that many forms of well-knownmechanical devices may be arranged in connection with a machine for imparting to the extractingpunch the above-described movements.

The plan shown in the accompanying drawings is the simplest and best known to me, and which I have found to work well in practice.

Referring to the drawings, E represents the extracting-punch, which is rigidly secured to a block, D, arranged to slide to and fro longitudinally in the body or holder C, as shown in Fig. 1, the punch being set at an angle of about forty-five degrees. In rear of the slide D is a vertical slide, F, which has a beveled shoulder, 0, arranged to bear againstthe lower corner of slide D, which, by preference, is correspondingly beveled to secure a larger wearing-face, the lower end of this slide F being arranged to strike upon a stop, N, secured to the bed of the press, directly under it, so as to hold the slide F stationary during the last portion of the downward movement of the tool, and by its incline 0 shove the slide D, and with it the punch E, forward, and cause its point to penetrate the primer diagonally while the tool as a whole is completing its downward movement in line with the longitudinal axis of the shell, which, as shown in Fig. 1, is at the time held directly under it.

A spring latch or catch, G, is arranged to engage with the slide F at the instant the tool has completed its downstroke, thereby locking the parts fast and preventing the punch from being withdrawn from the primer, so that as the cross-head rises the punch is raised vertically, thereby lifting the primer out of its seat in the shell. As the tool ascends, and afterit has risen far enough to be clear of the shell, the parts areunlocked by the drawing back of the spring-catch G, which is effected by having its projecting end or arm come in contact with an incline, I, secured in any suitable manner in the proper position, as represented in Fig. 1. The instant this occurs the slide D, with the punch E, is forced backward by a spring, a, (see Fig. 2,) thereby causing the point of the punch to pass quickly past a stripper-plate, L, the point 0 of which is so located as to strip the primer from the point of the punch as it passes. This stripper is preferably made somewhat elastic, so that it will act as a spring, and thus flip or throw the extracted primer to some distance out of the way, and thus prevent it from getting into the mechanism.

The tool is attached to the cross-head in such a manner that it can be adjusted vertically, and also in other directions, so as to bring the point of the punch to the exact position required to enable it to operate properly on the various kinds of shells and the different-sized primers or caps.

In order to present the shells to the tool and hold them properly while being acted upon by it, I provide the shell-carrying dial H of the press A with a series of tubular holders, J, in which the shells are placed as represented in Fig. 1. These holders have their months or upper ends made of a diameter internally corresponding to the external diameter of the shells close under their flanges, and thus they are adapted to hold securely the various styles of shells, some of which are cylindrical, some tapered, and others of what is known as the necked-down or bottle form. It is also necrises-todraw out the primer, and for this purpose I arrange a bar or device, P, in such a position that as the shells are brought into position under the punch they will pass under the end of the bar P, as shown in Fig. 1, which will thus prevent their being lifted out of the holders J. In the drawings I have represented this device P as being secured to the bed A of the press; but it may obviously be secured in any other manner, and be made of any form, so long as it serves to hold the shells from rising while being acted on by the punch. When its upper end is made to protrude to near the center of the shell, as shown, it is cut away at the center, so as not to interfere with the movements of the punch. The stop N, upon which the slide F strikes in its descent, is made adjustable vertically, so as to time the forward movement of the punch as required.

While I have represented the tool as being applied to the ordinary cartridge press or machine, it is obvious that it may be applied to any suitable reciprocating device and made to operate the same 5 and so, too, while I have represented the tool as moving in a vertical plane, and the cartridges as being fed to it in a horizontal plane, it is obvious that the tool may be arranged to move horizontally and the cartridges be fed vertically, or at any intermediate angle, if desired; but the plan shown is preferred, because it is adapted to the machines already in use, and because it is more convenient for the operator.

It is also obvious that the tool may be con-' nected to a hand-lever with suitable guides and holding devices, and thus be adapted for use by hand in cases where it is not desired to operate it by machinery;

In using this device it is usual to attach it to a machine in connection with an automatic priming apparatus, so that as the shells are fed along this tool first removes the old primer, and at the next movement a fresh one is inserted, thus combining the two operations of decapping and recapping the shells, the two operations being performed simultaneously and by the same machine.

The advantages and benefit of this invention are too obvious to require stating.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The extracting-punch E, mounted in a hold er, 0, adapted to be connected to the cross-head B, or equivalent reciprocating device, in combination with mechanism, arranged to operate substantially as described, whereby the punch is made to penetrate the primer at an angle while the implementis moved in line with the longitudinal axis of the shell, is then looked i'astin the primer, and while thus locked is lifted bodily from the shell in avertical line and madeto withdraw the primer, as set forth.

2. In combination with the extracting-punch E, a stripper device, L, arranged to operate in connection with said punch and remove the extracted primer therefrom, substantially as described.

3. The extracting device consisting of the slide D, having the punch E secured thereto, with the slide F, spring-catch G, and spring a, or equivalent devices, arranged to operate substantially as described.

4. In combination with the shell-carrying dial provided with the tubular shell-holders J, the stationary arm P, arranged to hold the shells in. the holders J as they are brought around under the extracting implement, substantially as described.

CHARLES F. BITZ. Witnesses:

DANIEL H. VEADER, T. G. BURNETT. 

